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Monday, 23 December 2013

"At the time of his death he was completing the latter film, perhaps
the most eloquent and disturbing attack on fascism in the history of
cinema. The plot dealt with the sexual components of power and its
maintenance taken to murderous extreme. Using the literary framework of
one of the Marquis de Sade’s libertine novels, he was showing how even
sophisticated cultures ranking high in the production of the arts –
music, literature, architecture, all referred to in the film – can
succumb to the unscrupulous manipulation of power hungry thugs who, by
imposing their will on supine populations, can abuse and destroy whole
generations.

With unprecedented directness, Pasolini was warning audiences that
while nazifascist threats can be easily detected when dressed up in the
conventional garbs of brutal domination, enabling a counter reaction, it
is far more dangerous when the process of subjugation is carried out in
ritualistic forms of apparent ordinariness by seemingly innocuous
people, until they turn into monsters, by which time it’s too late and
everyone feels complicit and compromised with the fait accompli. This is
why the message of Salò was and remains so shocking."

Friday, 6 December 2013

By Jon Kelly, from The Guardian, 5th Dec 2013 >> This article is posted for the benefit of those who have popped up to comment on this site about how this or that musician cannot possibly be fascist "because they are gay", or "they support gay rights".

Nicky Crane as Oi! pinup boy

"Adolf Hitler was my God," he said in a 1992 television interview.
"He was sort of like my Fuhrer, my leader. And everything I done was,
like, for Adolf Hitler."

Within six months of joining the BM, Crane had been made the
Kent organiser, responsible for signing up new members and organising
attacks on political opponents and minority groups.

He was also inducted into the Leader Guard, which served both
as McLaughlin's personal corps of bodyguards and as the party's top
fighters. Members wore black uniforms adorned with neo-Nazi symbols and
were drilled at paramilitary-style armed training weekends in the
countryside.
...
By now working as a binman and living in Plumstead, Crane quickly
acquired a reputation, even among the ranks of the far right, for
exceptionally brutal violence.
..."By appearance and reputation he was the epitome of right-wing
idealism - fascist icon and poster boy," writes Sean Birchall in his
book Beating The Fascists, a history of AFA.
Unbeknown to his comrades, however, a very different side to Nicky Crane was emerging.
...
He appears to have thrown himself enthusiastically into the gay scene
around this time. His imposing frame meant he easily found work as a
doorman at gay venues through a security firm.

But if the neo-Nazi world would have abhorred his sexuality,
the vast majority of London's gay scene would have been equally
horrified to learn that he was a neo-Nazi.

Among the leadership of the largely liberal-left gay rights movement
that was growing in London during the 1980s, fascist symbolism was an
obvious and outrageous taboo - a reminder of the persecution that
lesbians and gay men had suffered.

According to feminist scholar Sheila Jeffreys' book The
Lesbian Heresy, a commotion unfolded in 1984 when a group of gay
skinheads turned up at a gay bar in London's King's Cross and began sieg
heiling. She also records that a well-known far-right youth organiser
was thrown out of the same pub after taking off his jacket to reveal
swastika tattoos.
...
By the mid-1980s, a gay skinhead scene was beginning to flourish in
London, says Murray Healy, author of Gay Skins: Class, Masculinity and
Queer Appropriation.

Gay men had many different reasons for adopting the look, he
says. Some had been skinheads before they came out. Others found that,
in an era when all gay men were widely assumed to be camp and
effeminate, "you were less likely to get picked on if you looked like a
queer-basher". There were also "fetish skins", attracted to the
"hyper-masculinity" of the subculture.

Against this backdrop, even the swastikas and racist slogans
inked on Crane's body could be explained away, at least initially.
During the 1980s, says Healy, "gay Nazis were assumed to be left-wing
even if they had Nazi tattoos".

"People refused to read these tattoos politically. People
thought it was part of the authenticity ritual. People thought he was
just playing a part."
..."A lot of skinheads that weren't right-wing used to wear
Skrewdriver T-shirts," Byrne adds. "It was about the fashion of being a
skinhead."

But Crane wasn't just playing with the imagery of Nazism. He
was living it. His decision to start frequenting venues such as Heaven
wasn't the only thing that had changed since before his sentence.
...
On the surface, the idea of a gay man embracing neo-Nazism might appear
baffling and self-defeating. Just as Adolf Hitler's regime had thrown
gays and lesbians into death camps, the neo-Nazi movement remained
staunchly homophobic.

Crane was becoming all too aware of the
contradiction of being a gay neo-Nazi. "A lot of people that I did used
to hang around with, they did sort of like hate us," he said in 1992 -
"us" meaning gay men.

"They'd go out queer-bashing. It's something I never did myself. And I'd never let it happen in front of me, either."

He had, however, chosen fascism long before he had embraced
his sexuality, and much of his social life and prestige was bound up
with his status as a prominent neo-Nazi activist.

To maintain his cover, Crane would often appear in public
with a skinhead girl on his arm. "He often had a so-called girlfriend
but they were never around for long," says Pearce. "Nicky had no
chemistry with girls."

Certainly, after coming out, Crane always described himself as gay rather than bisexual.
...His closest affiliation, however, was with the neo-Nazi rock band
Skrewdriver. Originally the group had been apolitical. In 1982, however,
singer Ian Stuart Donaldson came out as a supporter of the National Front.
...
Opposition from anti-fascists meant gigs had to be forcefully
stewarded. Donaldson appointed Crane as Skrewdriver's head of security,
and he became a trusted lieutenant.

Reportedly, Crane wrote the lyrics for a Skrewdriver track
called Justice and provided the cover art for the albums Hail The New
Dawn and After The Fire.

Archive footage of their concerts shows Donaldson barking
neo-Nazi lyrics as he loomed above Crane who stood, arms folded, at the
front of the stage. The T-shirt on his chest said "Skrewdriver security"
in Gothic script.

Crane wasn't playing an instrument, but it was as though he was part of the performance.

His status as a neo-Nazi icon had never been more secure. But
for the first time, the twin strands of his double life were about to
intersect.
...
In 1987 Crane and Donaldson set up a group called Blood & Honour.
It was a cross between a White Power music club and a political party.

It staged concerts for Skrewdriver and other neo-Nazi bands
with names like No Remorse and Brutal Attack. T-shirts, flags and
records were sold by mail order through its magazine. The operation had
an annual turnover of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
...
Searchlight reported in October 1987 that "Crane, the right's finest
example of a clinical psychopath, is also engaged in building a 'gay
skins' movement, which meets on Friday nights" at a pub in east London.

Crane's sexuality might by now have been obvious to any interested onlooker, but the neo-Nazi scene remained in denial.
...
The Channel 4 programme was called Out. It featured a series of
documentaries about lesbian and gay life in the UK. The episode
broadcast on 27 July 1992 was about the gay skinhead subculture. Its
star attraction was Nicky Crane.

First the programme showed recorded interviews with an
unwitting Donaldson, who sounded baffled that such a thing as gay
skinheads existed, and NF leader Patrick Harrington. And then the camera cut to Crane, in camouflage gear and Dr Martens boots, in his Soho bedsit.

He told the interviewer how he'd known he was gay back in his early
BM days. He described how his worship of Hitler had given way to unease
about the far right's homophobia. He had started to feel like a hypocrite because the Nazi
movement was so anti-gay, he said. "So I just, like, couldn't stay in
it." Crane said he was "ashamed" of his political past and insisted he
had changed. "The views I've got now is, I believe in individualism and I
don't care if anyone's black, Jewish or anything," he added. "I either
like or dislike a person as an individual, not what their colour is or
anything."
...
Crane reiterated that he had abandoned Nazi ideology. "It is
all in the past," he told the paper. "I've made a dramatic change in my
life." The reaction from his erstwhile comrades was one of horror
and fury. Donaldson issued a blood-curdling death threat on stage at a
Skrewdriver gig. "He's dug his own grave as far as I'm concerned," Donaldson
told the Last Chance fanzine. "I was fooled the same as everybody else.
Perhaps more than everybody else. I felt I was betrayed by him and I
want nothing to do with him whatsoever."

Sunday, 10 November 2013

Recently there has been much slanderous talk about the political leanings of various members of Pure Blood SS, particularly following the release of the album Songs of Celebration Sung at the Funerals of Ethnic Minorities. Indeed, the scandal-mongering Bum the Nazis website suggested a racial agenda might inform such songs as Cleanse This World and White Roses. This is of course nonsense typical of those who see no irony in pointing accusatory fingers at artists such as ourselves whilst claiming to be proponents of free speech; but still the clamour of voices continues, and so we happily address the accusations.

Although it is true that our former trombonist Trevor Hardboard was indeed an enthusiastic member of the National Front for a few short months between April 1978 and May 1995, those days are distant memories, distant memories which he happily puts behind him in order to concentrate on Valhalla Imperium, his long term musical project which definitely isn't racist. Nevertheless, just as history caught up with the Führer in 1945, so too does it return to bite our long suffering comrade on his bottom, over and over until he turns his face to the heavens and asks what he must do to silence these snakes and authors of hurtful comments.

Hardboard is a big, fat Nazi, claims one barely literate article on a blog which shalt not to be named here; and yet does this accuser know Trevor Hardboard the man? Has this person broken bread with the internationally respected musician who recorded the neofolk classic The World Would Be Better Without Certain Types of People, Not Mentioning No Names or Nothin' ?

By Odin's hat, I should say not!

Only last week Trevor and I enjoyed hot dogs together, served by one of his many, many, many black friends and purchased from a van parked outside the venue in which we were performing on a bill featuring Valhalla Imperium, Pure Blood SS, Reichenschnitzel and the Goombay Dance Band.

'How much?' Trevor asked his black friend as the hot dog was handed down to him.

'One-fifty, mate,' quipped the black gentleman jovially, showing that there were no hard feelings, and that he was able to respect those who are simply exploring controversial ideas and imagery without feeling the need to call them all sorts of unreasonable names.

Would the cowardly and quite possibly Jewish author of that craven blog still have dubbed my colleague in such damning terms had he been there with us that night as we purchased hot dogs from a very close personal friend who is also a black man? Perhaps if he were, he too may have eaten heartily, and eaten not a hot dog but his own filthy words of accusation!

Of course, the apple of destiny falleth not far from the tree of Yggdrasil, and so it is that now that the Zionist eye of criticism and leftist censorship has fallen upon Pure Blood SS for the crime of simply exploring controversial ideas and imagery with our new album, something which we are apparently not allowed to do.

We have always been open and willing to discuss our fascination with Adolf Hitler and our humble considered opinion that the wrong side won the second world war, providing that discussion is conducted in a spirit of openness and without prejudice. Now it seems we are to be tarred with rude names and our words censored, but the artist who is true to his soul has ever been ahead of the curve, and ever left thankless for going where others wouldst be afeared to tread. They said that Picasso's admittedly degenerate work was like that of an untalented child; they said that Bob Marley the famous reggae singer whose records are heartily enjoyed by many of our group was just a rip-off of Elvis Presley; they said that Adolf Hitler's paintings were uninspired even though you can quite clearly see what it's supposed to be, the blind fools; now Pure Blood SS are also to suffer similar outraged arrows and slings of misfortune cast by those who probably won't even listen to Songs of Celebration Sung at the Funerals of Ethnic Minorities but will instead follow sheeplike as some other bloke, probably one with a fairly big nose if you catch my drift, tells them that it is now racist to simply wish for one's homeland to be inhabited only by those of pure white blood. Well fine, if it's racist to dress oneself in a black uniform and then march up and down in front of a Bavarian castle innocently singing a hymn of praise to the blood that runs true from the heart of the

Rhine, and with none of those disco boats going up and down playing any of that thumpathumpa music, then our testimony, it seems, is worth naught, for the jury has already reached its corrupt decision; and you, dear reader, must decide whether you're content to be blinded by the so-called truth of the facts, or whether you have the courage to keep an open mind...

Wednesday, 6 November 2013

After receiving complaints from members of the public, the owners of the Union Chapel - the Islington, London venue - have cancelled the booking for Death in June for 9th Dec. According to an email that was passed on to us here at WMTN, the organisers say they decided to cancel having investigated the group and found video of audience members Sieg Heil-ing at an earlier gig.

Monday, 7 October 2013

"This is my personal account. It is not scholarly and does not represent
the particular ideology of any specific group. It’s my best attempt at
being honest about a really crappy situation I put myself in and it’s
mostly meant for people that I don't think were deliberately doing
anything to hurt anyone. Nonetheless, I think everyone who went to this
event should look deeply at the decision they made and whether or not
they would ever want to make it again."

Friday, 13 September 2013

Due to a technical snafu we have only just been able to publish this iece today, the day f the protests - we publish it anyway because it is an excellent article and may be of use to anyone who wants to protest at future DiJ gigs

Bay Area Antifa alert!

An anti-fascist queer bloc has been called to protest and shut down the Third Position fascist band 'Death In June' concert on Friday, September 13th - 9 pm @ the Mezzanine in San Francisco. While there is a queer bloc all anti-fascists are invited but if you are a straight person please do not dominate the protest. As you can read below Douglas Pearce is a gay fascist so it is best if queer folks are on the front. Any homophobic remarks made by anyone in our presence with be dealt with accordingly.
Please contact the Mezzanine to demand they cancel they show or we will shut it down ourselves:

To get to the Mezzanine by public transport: Bart, Bus or Muni to Powell Street Stop (5th and Market). Walk down 5th toward Mission and take a right into Mint Plaza (near Chez Papa + 54 Mint) Continue down Jessie St. and the venue is on your right.

Why do we oppose Death In June?

Racist, Euro-centric, and Fascist statements made by Douglas Pearce.1. The European Colonization of Australia
\
When asked Do you see Australia inescapably as an outpost of European colonialism? Douglas stated: "As Dutch, British and French explorers literally put this Great Southern Land on the map it would be ridiculous to say that modern day Australia is anything other than a grand - and successful - outpost of Euro-colonialism and, more specifically Anglo-Celt British colonialism. It's a fact of life like the Euro-colonization of the Americas etc. If it was an outpost of, let's say, Iranian or Zimbabwean colonialism would so many people still be so desperately trying to get into Australia by any means necessary, legal or otherwise? It's doubtful. Thank the Gods for Euro-colonialism!" - Douglas Pearce 12. Genocide

Q: How do you imagine these scents of genocide, what’s this “perfume”? What does it evoke to you, in real? What brings men to do that?

A: "I also say in the same song that “you can’t smell experience like that”! But, if genocide smells of anything it’s probably Nostalgia. Once men catch a whiff of that most will chase after it." - Douglas Pearce 23. Xenophobia

Q: Looking back and making some kind of the symbolic conclusion to the end of epoch, what are your present anxieties and prophesies about the future?

A: "IT'S HARD NOT TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE "END TIME" AS WE RACE TOWARDS THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM. I DO THINK ABOUT IT AND I DO WONDER IF ALL THE PROPHECIES FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD WILL COME TRUE OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS/YEARS. I EVEN SOMETIMES WONDER HOW PROPHETIC SOME OF MY WORDS COULD BE. I FEEL THAT 'PURITY OF INTENT' SHOULD ALWAYS DICTATE ART OF WORTH - IN ALL ITS FORMS. I'M VERY CAREFUL WITH THE WORDS I CHOOSE. "EUROPA HAS BURNED AND WILL BURN AGAIN" BECAME ONLY TOO TRUE. UNFORTUNATELY!THE WORLD SEEMS TO BE SO FULL OF SO MANY DANGERS THAT IT'S HARD TO SINGLE ANY PARTICULAR ONES OUT. CERTAINLY THE MOST OBVIOUS THAT SPRING TO MIND ARE THE GROWTHS IN ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM AND OUT OF CONTROL BREEDING. EVEN IN EUROPA, WITH ZERO POPULATION GROWTH IN MANY COUNTRIES, THOSE WHO ARE DOING THE BREEDING APPEAR TO ME, AND I THINK MANY OTHERS, TO BE OF DUBIOUS CHARACTER. THEY FUCK, THEY HAVE KIDS AND THAT IS ALL THEY DO! I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IS ENOUGH!! I DON'T THINK I NEED TO TELL ANY RUSSIAN ABOUT ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM. I ALWAYS BACKED THE FORMER U.S.S.R IN AFGHANISTAN AND FEEL THE WEST, BY BACKING THE WRONG SIDE IN THAT WAR HAS STILL YET TO PAY THE FULL PRICE OF THAT MISTAKE. I'VE NEVER AGREED WITH THE PHILOSOPHY THAT IF HE IS MY ENEMY'S ENEMY HE MUST BE MY FRIEND. THAT TRULY IS NAIVE. AUSTRALIA IS NOW EXPERIENCING THE CONSEQUENCES OF SUCH NAIVETY WITH INDONESIA. BY THE TIME YOU GET THIS WE COULD BE AT WAR WITH THEM. TRADITIONAL ENEMIES WERE NEVER FRIENDS!" - Douglas Pearce

Q: Some years ago you've left your motherland, claiming that England to your mind "isn't the best place for the spiritual development" in Europe because of the present degradation of the country and the nation. Can you comment these words?

A: "AS I'VE SAID IN A PREVIOUS QUESTION I TRULY FEEL THAT ENGLAND, AND PROBABLY TO A LESSER EXTENT, MAINLAND EUROPA, HAS SEVERE STOCK PROBLEMS. THAT, AS FAR AS I CAN SEE HAS ONLY GOT WORSE. THOSE WHO SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BREED ARE DOING SO WITH SUCH FREQUENCY THAT THE UK IS BEING OVER POPULATED BY MORONS WITH NOTHING TO DO EXCEPT HARASS THE REST OF THE POPULATION. THERE IS NO OTHER PLACE FOR THEM. BRITAIN AS AN INDUSTRIAL POWER IS A THING OF YESTERYEAR. LARGE POOLS OF MANUAL, UNSKILLED LABOURERS ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED. HOWEVER, THE OLD HABITS LINGER ON. MONEY IS STILL GIVEN TO THOSE WHO BREED. THE MORE KIDS YOU HAVE THE MORE MONEY YOU GET. THIS IS TOTALLY UNREAL. IN A COUNTRY THAT NOW GAINS ITS INCOME FROM THE ARTS, HIGH TECHNOLOGY AND TOURISM THERE ARE FEW PLACES FOR THOSE CAPABLE OF ONLY PUSHING A BROOM IN FRONT OF THEM.BRITAIN IMPORTED MILLIONS OF UNSKILLED LABOURERS FROM THE COLONIES FOR THAT KIND OF WORK AND LOOK WHAT A HUGE SUCCESS THAT WAS! THE HATRED IS BARELY RESTRAINED INTO THE OCCASSIONAL RIOT. I DON'T LIKE BEING IN A PLACE WITH SUCH AN ATMOSPHERE. EVEN GERMANY, THE FORMER RICHEST COUNTRY IN WESTERN EUROPA SEEMS TO BE TANGIBLY FALLING TO BITS. IT IS NO LONGER AS CLEAN AND AS WELL ORGANISED AS I REMEMBER FROM, SAY, 10 YEARS AGO. IT HAS BEEN FLOODED BY THOSE WHO WANT BUT, WITH LITTLE TO GIVE! THE WEST'S LIBERALISM WILL BE ITS DEATH." - Douglas Pearce 34. "Euro-centric Racialism"Q: In interviews you've expressed Eurocentrism. How do you feel about fans that are Eurocentric/Racialist?

A: "Depending upon their ' version ' of Eurocentric Racialism, then 9 times out of 10 I feel very comfortable with it. This is how it's supposed to be. I would like to think that the Klu Klux Klan version isn't included in this. Eurocentrics goes beyond reactionary Christian, political militias. I believe in seizing the end of time, not being a passive part of it. " - Douglas Pearce 4Q: Don't you think your vision concerning the history of Europe (which in your opinion is the best one) is nevertheless a European opinion? I'm not talking about the americans who have no past and who probably have no more future but about the Chinese, for example, who were in the past a very powerful nation...

A: "Yes, I am totally Euro-centric. I'm not overly concerned with the past but, I do care about the present and the future. European culture, morals, ethics, whatever, are under attack from all sides these days. Even, most dangerous of all, from within Europe. Whilst we have room for regret about some of the mistakes of the past (and of the present) regarding our treatment of the earth and some of it's peoples/wildlife, there is also plenty to be content about. I'm tired of being made to feel guilty about the sins of the world. Europe has contributed a MASSIVE amount to the world on ALL fronts. We will regret the day when we let that position slip from our hands and fade from our memory." - Douglas Pearce 55. National Socialism

Q: WHY HAVE YOU TAKEN SUCH AN INTEREST IN NATIONAL SOCIALIST GERMANY? DO YOU, FOR INSTANCE, QUESTION YOURSELF WHETHER YOU WOULD HAVE JOINED THE RANKS OR NOT?

A: "Yes, naturally. It's been an overriding interest since I was very, very young. My parents used to be quite angry about the morbid fascination I had as a child for this part of history. In the end, though, they actually gave up on it because I was so sincere in my interest. It wasn't just a passing dalliance but an actual obsession and I seem to be quite knowledgeable in that area. Outside of that, what are the reasons for my interest? I think, overridingly, that one of the main reasons is that you can still communicate with people who have taken part in these events. You just don't have to read books or see films about them, these people are very much alive today." - Douglas Pearce 66. The fascist symbol the "Totenkopf"

Q: Throughout the period of Death In June you have employed strong imagery - what is the significance of symbolism such as the Totenkopf, most commonly associated with extreme right-wing philosophy, to you?

A: "The Totenkopf is used all over Europe as a sign of total commitment, so I've never really had any problems with it. When I thought of Death In June it was really the be all and end all of my life - it still is - so that's why I chose to use that symbol, plus the fact that the simple symbolism reads easy. The Totenkopf for Death, and the six for the sixth month - June. I've always been interested, intrigued...and I suppose obsessive with symbols in so many ways and that particular one is a perfect representation. " - Douglas Pearce 7

Douglas P. being gay is not an excuse to promote racist or fascist ideas. One of the founders of fascism was openly homosexual.

While many claim that his work is clearly shock value because Douglas P. is gay, I am queer and recognize his aesthetic to be aligned with that of the SA who was lead by a gay fascist named Ernst Rohm. 8
Gay historian Frank Rector wrote "Although it was clear the Nazi party viewed homosexuals negatively, as was evident from the destruction of Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute of Sexual Science in Berlin, “some gays [in the SS] may have been reconciled by the knowledge that Hitler’s right hand man, Ernst Rohm, was a homosexual,"8"projected a social order in which homosexuality would be regarded as a human behaviour pattern of high repute... He flaunted his homosexuality in public and insisted his cronies do the same. He believed straight people weren't as adept at bullying and aggression as homosexuals, so homosexuality was given a high premium in the SA."8
Gay columnist Johann Hari writes "Rohm often referred to the ancient Greek tradition of sending gay solider couples into battle, because they were believed to be the most ferocious fighters. The famous pass of Thermopylae, for example was held by 300 soldiers - who consisted of 150 gay couples. In its early years, the SA - Hitler and Rohm's underground army - was seen as predominantly gay. Rohm assigned prominent posts to his lovers, making Edmund Heines his deputy and Karl Ernst the SA commander in Berlin. The organisation would sometimes meet in gay bars. The gay art historian Christian Isermayer said in an interview, 'I got to know people in the SA. They used to throw riotous parties even in 1933... I once attended one. It was quite well-behaved but thoroughly gay. But then, in those days, the SA was 'ultra-gay.' "9
The SA was one of the most violent fascist groups during World War II. In this 2011 interview Douglas Pearce acknowledges his interest in gay fascist Ernst Rohm:

INTERVIEWER: "I recently saw the Danish movie "Brotherhood". The Plot is that Lars has to leave the army after accusations of having made a pass at some of his men. Disillusioned he joins a Neo-Nazi movement, even though they practice gay-bashing. He and his peer Jimmy become embroiled in a secret love affair. Moving from hostility through grudging admiration to friendship and finally passion. Events take a darker turn when their relationship is uncovered. What's your opinion about Brotherhood/Homosexuality in the SA and how can be (if can be) mixed Nazism and Homosexuality?"

Douglas Pearce: "I’ve heard about the ‘Brotherhood’ film you mention but haven’t seen it. I do intend to get a copy of it on DVD soon. I’d be better placed to answer that question regarding that film after that. However, regarding being Gay in the S.A. the early Nazi movement and brotherhood etc. then at this late stage of the game with few, if any, surviving members that were involved in any of that at the time we can only surmise or read books and wonder. And, it is a big wonder! A truly fascinating question as to what was, and what might have been. However, it’s an impossible question to answer with any accuracy. The only thing I can say is that nearly 20 years ago I did have a conversation with a then member of the SS who later became in the war a very high ranking member of the Waffen SS and was around in those early days in 1930s Germany and he said that during the Night Of The Long Knives the question of homosexuality was never brought up. They weren’t sure exactly what was happening when they were told to be on alert at the end of June, 1934 and that they expected an attempt on Hitler’s life from elements in the Storm Troops (S.A.) The Gay angle appeared only after the purge of Ernst Roehm and his comrades as some sort of extra excuse made up by Goering and Goebbels as to why such a purge was necessary. About a year later homosexuality then also became officially illegal in Germany which up until then had no specific laws against being Gay. That was unlike Britain or the USA which had outlawed homosexuality for decades and where it was still punishable by imprisonment and sometimes death. Hitler doesn’t have seemed to have made any direct comments, or even be concerned, about any of his close comrades being Gay and, in fact, there are strong rumours that when he was a struggling artist in Vienna he did spend time being a male prostitute to help pay his bills etc. Being Gay and being aligned to the Nazi Party certainly didn’t become apparently mutually exclusive until the change of laws in 1935." [10]

Crisis from 'left' to right wing

"I think Crisis (Well Doug and me) saw Crisis as way of imbuing or infiltrating a distinct ideological strain of left wing politics into punk." - Tony Wakeford [11]

"At the start of the eighties, Tony and I were involved in radical left politics and beneath it history students. In search of a political view for the future we came across National Bolshevism which is closely connected with the SA hierarchy. People like Gregor Strasser and Ernst Röhm who were later known as 'second revolutionaries' attracted our attention." - Douglas Pearce

Monday, 19 August 2013

Guest post by a concerned group of antifascists who are lovers of black metal and Nature

This coming September 20th-22nd, the music festival Stella Natura will be taking place in Tahoe National Forest in Northern California. This festival is a project of Adam Torruella of the Pesanta Urfolk label and distro, and it is the third year it will take place. A three day long music festival in the woods which serves as a meeting ground for people seeking to reconnect to the land and form community seems innocent enough. However when certain individuals seek to build this event on a foundation of white nationalist propaganda and promote an extremely racist agenda, it is a call to action for all who consider themselves opposed to white supremacy. The information following was compiled with the intent of exposing these individuals for who and what they are, no longer allowing them to exploit music scenes and spirituality as they seek to hide their true colors.

Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) is the first listed sponsor for the festival. Asatru is a pagan spirituality focused on the revival of Norse gods and mythology, and it has unfortunately been filled with deep associations with various fascist organizations. The Southern Poverty Law Center have written a concise and highly recommended article on dubious figures within Asatru, in which they explain: “Odinism, which is closely related to Asatrú, was much favored in Nazi Germany. Its Nordic/Teutonic mythology was a bedrock belief for key Third Reich leaders, and it was an integral part of the initiation rites and cosmology of the elite Schutzstaffel (SS), which supervised Adolf Hitler's network of death camps. Decades later, Odinism also influenced George Lincoln Rockwell's American Nazi Party” (1). SPLC go on to describe how this spirituality has gained a great deal of popularity with violent white supremacists over the last few decades. The AFA was founded in the mid-1990s by Stephen McNallen out of concern that other Asatru organizations had lost focus on promoting the Asatru faith as inherently tied to the white race. At least one of AFA's leaders has ties to white supremacist organizations, claiming former standing as a state-level organizer for the SS Action Group and links to a violent neo-Nazi skinhead gang. “'I'm a white racist and proud of it," he told a reporter while posing in a Nazi uniform in 1992. ' (1)”. AFA was a sponsor of Stella Natura last year with McNallen appeared on stage to perform a ritual as a guest of the band Changes, and they remain a sponsor this year. (2)(3).

Some of McNallen's white supremacist ideologies can be seen in his theorizing on migration and border politics. In an article entitled 'Wotan vs. Tezcatlipoca: The Spiritual War for California and the Southwest', McNallen refers to the increasing Latin population of the border states of America as a “tide of cultural and demographic conquest” that white Americans must resist rather than “accept our marginalization quietly” (4). He voices that he feels the needs to “fight for my people and my culture against all odds”, and calls for white people to “stand by your kin and your culture” in states he describes as “overwhelmed with illegal immigrants”. He perceives this as a realm of spiritual war, in which Norse gods must conquer Mayan gods. He closes the article by arguing that “We must sink down roots in the soil, and insist on our right to be here... European-descended peoples, true to their ancestral ways, are here to stay. Our forebears fought and died to carve out this place in the world, and we will not give it up.”

In a 2010 piece by McNallen, entitled 'A down and dirty breakdown of the 'browning of America'', he decries the decreasing percentage of America's white population as a sign that “our political and cultural clout will evaporate to a thin wisp of what it is today”, and follows with the absurd claim that “European Americans face minority status, then marginalization, and eventually extinction” (5). He states that “Illegal immigration on the present scale is a form of conquest” an “invasion” that can be “stopped and even reversed almost at once” as it is “ being carried out by identifiable people and parties”. He lists clear political aims for his racist agenda:

“First, the border must be secured. Contrary to liberal opinion, this can be done. I will not analyze the mechanics of this task, but a brainstormed list of options would include diplomatic punishment of Mexico for its role in encouraging migration, sanctions against employers of illegal aliens to include mandatory prison time, a physical wall (built by illegal aliens from our prison system), high-tech surveillance devices, and imprisonment with hard labor for individuals violating our territorial sovereignty. Until we are willing to take these measures, we are not serious about closing the border. Second, it must be clear that no amnesty of illegal aliens, wholesale or piecemeal, in general or in particular, is acceptable. Third, all illegal aliens must be deported and denied legal entry at any time in the future. Because of the logistical complexities involved, deportation could take the form of a “phased withdrawal,” just as troops are pulled out of a war zone when a peace treaty is concluded. This mass deportation should be carried out as humanely as possible, but it absolutely must be done. Fourth, legal immigration must be reformed. We need a temporary moratorium on all immigration, followed by the dismantling of the Immigration Act of 1965 and a return to the previous system, which favored immigration from Europe.”

Brian Powell, a journalist with Media Matters, did an expose on a white nationalist conference organized by the National Policy Institute (6). The full article can be found in our sources and it is recommended to read through as it provides a good indication of the shapes this form of white nationalist fascism is currently taking. Major themes at this conference were the building of a white ethno-state through the forced migration of people of color, along with claims of white people's supposed inherent biological superiority. Upon meeting several members of the AFA during this conference, the reporter states: "...they expressed frustration with a culture and government that they feel ignores and looks down upon the interests of the white race.... They were relieved that they had finally found a place where they didn't have to 'feel out' the conversation before navigating it into the straits of white supremacy.“ In his response to the Media Matters article, Stephen McNallen merely states: "The AFA will not dictate to its members which meetings they are permitted to attend as private individuals. There are suggestions that we discipline them for the crime of being present in a room where extreme statements seem to have been made. We will not do this. There will be no exposure, no witch-hunt, no apologies, and no reprimands... men and women of European descent have exactly the same right to meet and to promote their collective interests as do any other group. To demonize them for doing this, when every other group is encouraged to do so, is to indulge in a vicious double standard. (7)".

To state that an overtly white supremacist conference which involved proposing plans for white-only ethnostates, modeled on South African apartheid, is a discussion of the "collective interests" of white people provides us with a clear perspective on what the founder of the AFA means when he discusses his vision of promoting the goals of the white race. There are no excuses offered and none should be made on his behalf. On the AFA's webpage, the second goal of the organization is stated to be "The preservation of the Peoples of the North (typified by the Scandinavian/Germanic and Celtic peoples), and the furtherance of their continued evolution... the survival and welfare of the Northern European peoples as a cultural and biological group is a religious imperative for the AFA." (8). This statement by McNallen provides a clear idea of what AFA's purpose and points of unity are intended to denote in the form of practical application sought by its founders. Anti-racists have been intervening in Stephen McNallen's spread of white nationalist propaganda since at least the 1990's, as evidenced by a rather amusing article from a Canadian Holocaust denier organization that hosted him for a lecture and were highly upset by the ARA response they received (9).

Blood Axis / Michael Moynihan

Allowing for the participation of the AFA and McNallen was not the only way in whichStella Natura has provided a platform for racists. Michael Moynihan played at Stella Natura last year with his band Blood Axis, a group well known for their use of Nazi iconography and their high standing in fascist music circles. This year he and his Blood Axis bandmate Annabell (Lee) Moynihan are appearing at the festival as 'special guests' of Ian Read's act, Fire and Ice. Moynihan is a well-known figure among anti-racists for his covert and intellectual ways of promoting fascist politics for decades. He has edited two of Italian fascist philosopher and elite Nazi academic Julius Evola's books for English-language publication, including Evola’s Men Among the Ruins: Post‐War Reflections of a Radical Traditionalist (10). In 1992, Moynihan collected and published the writings of National Socialist James Mason in the book 'SIEGE!' (11). Within these texts, Mason vehemently argues for the need for whites to gain power through armed struggle rather than political means, and applauds individuals for acts such as “Zebra Killings”(the murder of black and white 'mixed' couples). For a better idea of what this work includes, please see the enclosed chapter from Mason's book. Moynihan's aims in spreading fascist propaganda is clear in quotes of his such as: “I’m sick of people saying they’re ‘not political,’ as I think this is a cop‐out… If you’re going to espouse ‘fascist’ ideas, then I believe you have to accept some of the responsibility for their application in the real world; otherwise what is the point of espousing them in the first place?” (12).

Extract from James Masons's Siege!

One of Moynihan's present areas of focus is the editing and publishing of the journal Tyr, which collects pieces on the topics of Germanic paganism and the history of northern European peoples (13). While it does not describe itself as a fascist publication, it reproduces white nationalist and far-right discourse and publishes authors with ties to various fascist and white supremacist currents. One of the original editors and ongoing contributors of Tyr is Colin Cleary, whose political perspective is rather concisely summed up in an article in which he states: "I regard Ásatrú and White Nationalism as so inseparably bound to one another that to espouse Ásatrú while rejecting White Nationalism is to involve oneself in a fatal contradiction (fatal, really, in more than just the logical sense)... Disraeli really was right: 'Race is everything. There is no other truth.' (14)". Joshua Buckley, another editor of Tyr, is a former member of the SS of America (15). He makes a living as one-half of a notoriously shady real estate gentrification project with a long-term business partner, who he is set to inherit the business from, named Sam Dickson. Dickson is an attorney who provided legal services to the Georgia KKK for decades and who sat on the board of The Barnes Review, an academic journal focused on promoting Holocaust denial. Dickson's largest public presence in the last decade has been as a guest speaker at multiple conferences that advocate for militant white nationalism, such as the conference covered by Media Matters.

Robert Taylor is one half of the band Changes, who will be playing for their third time at Stella Natura. The Changes duo returned to the music scenein 1996 after decades of silence thanks to the encouragement and efforts of Taylor's friend Michael Moynihan, who went on to produce and release their next album (16). Robert Taylor describes himself as a “herald... one of the three founders of the [Asatru] movement” within North America, along with Steven McNallen. He describes Asatru as “a religion that is suited for Indo-Europeans because it contains and constitutes all the main features and spirit of how most of us feel inside” (17). Taylor was a founder of the Asatru Alliance along with former American Nazi party member Michael (Valgard) Murray and has a long history of allying with Stephen McNallen in pagan organizing (16). Taylor has a long history of involvement within the radical right and white separatist circles. In an interview with infamous 'national anarchist' and white supremacist political organizer Troy Southgate (39),Taylor outlines his youth involvement in “the most feared white street gang in Chicago at that time” and states that he joined as a “vehicle for fighting” because he “loved the exhilaration of combat”, and that he “never joined gangs so much for the camaraderie or as a group security thing” (16). He states that this environment “certainly brought grassroots social problems into sharp focus” and that “racial tensions flared up frequently”. He describes his participation in a white riot in which thousands of white people mobbed up against a black family that had just moved into the neighborhood he lived in. This mob chanted curses, bombarded the black family's home with bricks, tried to break down the door and then proceeded to fight with the police upon their arrival. He described the experience of being in this mob as “like a minuet movement. A dance of rage”. Taylor recounts that these riots went on for four nights, during which “dummies stuffed with rags and painted with black faces were hung from lamp posts and set ablaze in effigy” and city buses with black drivers were attacked with large chunks of concrete dropped from bridges. He claims that he's sure of the fact that the media did not report on the riots because it would have attracted “people from far and wide to join the mob and riot”. He also outlines a group he organized with other white youth that committed such disgusting acts as responding to black students being brought into a school in his neighborhood by holding a confrontational demonstration at the school which these students were being transferred from, in a black community.

Taylor speaks at length of his involvementwith a1960s right wing paramilitary organization named 'the Minutemen', in which he quickly moved through the ranks from being the principal organizer in the Chicago area to holding the position of national Director of Intelligence, and then becoming national spokesperson while also being the sole editor of their magazine. He describes the activities of the Minutemen as mainly consisting of: infiltrating leftist and communist groups in order to bring police violence against them or sabotaging their activities in other ways, identifying their members, and forming fake anti-war groups to give leftists a bad name in the press. He was a member of a special subgroup that was set up within the organization called the Defence Survival Force, which consisted of about 50-60 people trained in survival skills, killing, expropriation, explosives knowledge and special operational skills. They operated underground and rendezvoused in an organized way to meet in safe-houses and make claymore mines and pipe grenades. He outlines how this group slowly fell apart due to legal matters and how once their resources had dwindled enough and some members were facing incarceration, he used his position as national spokesperson to advise Minutemen groups across the US to organize as local militias rather than as a federation. In Taylor's own words, “The legacy of the Minutemen continues on now in various factions of the revolutionary right. We laid the groundwork, provided the basic concepts and more or less pioneered that movement. It brought a new sophistication of tactics and strategy to the Right” (18).

In 2006, Taylor defends his participation in the race riots by saying that for white working class people, “their job... their home, car and family was about all they had in the world” and that once black families began to move into neighborhoods dominated by white people, these were all threatened (17). He went on to claim that“[i]t was no secret that once blacks predominated in an area, the crime rate would soar and the streets would become dangerous to walk. (17)” Taylor espouses strong feelings about disseminating this viewpoint based on the perception that “white working class ethnics seldom have a spokesman or anyone who writes or speaks on their behalf. They are simply the dispossessed majority”. It is also very interesting to notethat in this later interview, Taylor attempts to justify his participation in this riot, yet offers up no toned-down explanationof his prolonged and active organizing within the Minutemen. Taylor has gone on record stating that he sees the infamous and long-running white supremacist organization Aryan Nations and similar groups as representing “love and loyalty to one's race as opposed to geographical boundaries” (17).

Fire And Ice, one of the headliners of Stella Natura, is a band founded and fronted by Ian Read. Read is well known for his work with bands Current 93, Sol Invictis, and Death in June, whom he provided vocals for in their rendition of 'Horst Wessel Lied', the anthem of the German National Socialists on the Brown Book album (banned in Germany for supporting fascism) (19). He also played with the openly neo-nazi group Above the Ruins, whose name is derived from the writings of Evola and who contributed to the National Front's benefit album No Surrender Vol 1, alongside bands such as Screwdriver(20)(21). Read has also led militant security teams for both Holocaust denier and anti-Semite Michele Renouf and editor of far-right magazine Michael Walker (22). Michael Walker was one of the individuals who safe-housed a notorious Italian fascist, on the run from the police after having a large quantity of explosives and weapons found in his organization's office (23) (24). He was also exposed as an organizer of the Iona organization's Nazi street fighters in the 1997 article 'Rocking for Satan' by the antifascist Magazine Searchlight (22). One of Read's closest collaborators has been Tony Wakeford (Death in June, Sol Invictis, Above the Ruins), a member of the National Front who has also been a key figure within occult-fascist music (20). Wakeford's work within Above the Ruins and overt Nazism was too much for Death in June's Douglas Pierce, eventually causing Wakeford to split from the group and form Sol Invictis with Read (22). He was also heavily involved with Read in the IONA fascist group (22). Ian Read was also a member of the band While Angels Watch, which worked with British fascist advocate and organizer Troy Southgate (20).

Die Weisse Rose

Die Weisse Rose is another band slated to play at Stella Natura. This Danish band is the project of Thomas Bøjden and whichever friends he asks to join him in performances (25). These friends include people such as Gerhard Petak, the man who records his music as Allerseelen. Petak has released tribute albums to the Iron Guard, a profoundly violent Romanian fascist occultist party guilty of such horrific massacres that the Nazis had to urge them to practice restraint (10) (26). Petak celebrates and claims great influence from Evola, as well as Karl Maria Wiligut and the Ahnenerbe (the occultist wing of the Third Reich), and bases a large part of his music and imagery in direct references to the Nazi regime (10). Another of Bøjden's guest collaborators was Marco Deplano of Italian fascist band Foresta di Ferro, who have contributed songs to tribute albums for the leader of the Iron Guard (26). Bøjden has performed as a guest with Foresto di Ferro, Allerseelen and Blood Axis (27). About his collaborations with these fascist musicians, Bøjden states that they are “musicians that I truly admire and respect for their individual projects and their contribution to Die Weisse Rose" (25).Die Weisse Rose utilize sound collages, videos, and the wearing of Nazi Brownshirt uniforms in their performances, which Bøjden claims is merely for artistic purposes. Die Weisse Rose were selected by Douglas Pierce to accompany Death in June's farewell tour in 2012 and Bøjden describes Douglas Pierce as “a very wonderful and very inspiring person”, stating that Death in June had been formative in every aspect of his life for decades (25). Included is an image of Bøjden posing affectionately with Tony Wakeford.

Tony Wakeford and Thomas Bøjden

Another band on Stella Natura's 2013 lineup is Waldteufel, the project of Markus Wolff. Wolff was a founding member of Blood Axis and has collaborated with Michael Moynihan frequently (28) (10). Wolff has contributed writings on nationalist German authors and paganism to publication such as Tyr, and also helped Moynihan release English editions of Evola's works (10). He is the current staff editor and contributing artist and writer for Hex magazine, another sponsor of Stella Natura (29). Hex magazine has published works by Gerhard Petak in several issues, and promoted Allerseelen's recent West Coast tour ( 10), with Waldteufel playing a date on this tour. Hell and Dispirit, two other band appearing at Stella Natura, also played on the same tour despite agitation and information spread by the Rose City Antifa and actions against their shows by antifascists in Europe (30).

Yet another dubious act on Stella Natura's lineup for 2013 is Of the Wand and the Moon, the one-man project of Kim Larsen, which has issued a split album with Ian Read and Tony Wakeford's Sol Invictus (31). OTWATM also appeared on a compilation entitled 'Looking for Europe', which bears an iron cross on the cover and features essentially every high profile fascist or fascist sympathizer band in the neofolk scene, such as Blood Axis, Boyd Rice/ NON, Allerseelen, Changes and Death in June (32). Kim Larsen has been criticized by German antifa groups for posing for photos (33) wearing the Lebensrune, a Norse symbol that was used during the Nazi regime in place of the 'date of birth' label on paperwork. It was also the symbol of the SS Lebensborn and modern neo-Nazi organizations such as the German Heathens' Front (34). The German Heathens' Front is a racialist Asatru organization formed by a well-known neo-Nazi and is infamous for their virulent anti-Semitism and allegiance to the ideas of David Lane (35). This is not to claim that the use and revival of runes is inherently problematic, but merely that to wear a rune that has been so deeply associated with various fascist organizations without any critique or anti-fascist analysis is a heavily loaded action. In an interview with an online fanzine, Larsen names his biggest musical influences as “Death in June, but also bands as NON, Der Blutharsch, Current 93, Fire and Ice, Blood Axis etc.”, all bands that have racist tendencies and associations (36). In another interview in which he was asked the same question, he lists the same bands but adds Sol Invictus to the list (37). Larsen has also appeared as a guest in Die Weisse Rose's performances (25).

It is necessary to acknowledge that while many Asatru practitioners or fans of neofolk/industrial/black metal are well-intentioned music fans, many others involved in these scenes are actively promoting fascist ideas in order to normalize these tendencies. As outlined in Anton Shekhovstov's brilliant essay on the topic, which is highly recommended when approaching this subject,(38) this course is charted out within the post-WWII writings of Alain de Benoist and Julius Evola. These authors argued for fascists to retreat from active politics into the realm of culture until the time was right to begin recruiting for future fascist political movements. This form of 'metapolitical' fascism manifests in subcultural scenes focused on music or spirituality with their accompanying record labels, distros and spiritual organizations, as well as through networks of journals, publishing houses, conferences and think tanks. Neofolk as a musical subculture has always held an intellectual and elitist attitude that is eager to feign disassociation with more overt white supremacists, but this must be seen as what it is: part of a coherent and deliberate strategy to disseminate their unpopular ideas without risking immediate anti-fascist responses.The presence of fascists and white nationalists at Stella Natura is not an accident, but a planned infiltration; a co-opting of spirituality, heritage and music to suit their personal agenda. Opposition to this must come from within the scenes they seek to convert, and from the potential recruits they hope to gain.

Wednesday, 31 July 2013

Noise In Opposition is a compilation of 24 artists from across the globe opposed to fascism, misogyny and prejudice. Noise In Opposition totals nearly 3 hours of music across 31 tracks by people including Hacker Farm, Libbe Matz Gang, Elizabeth Veldon and The Implicit Order.

The Noise In Opposition project was triggered by Elizabeth Veldon’s statement that she would never make harsh noise again after receiving threats against her, and those close to her, for the crime of being a feminist in a male-dominated genre. This was the catalyst, but the problem is one that has been poisoning the noise and extreme electronics scenes for a long,long time: the tolerance of misogyny, fascism and prejudice – either as a genuine belief or a cheap, lazy aesthetic. It’s time for the opposition to make our voices heard. It was gratifyingly easy to get people involved – almost everyone asked was genuinely enthused by the idea and suggested other people who would be interested.

Sounds veer wildly across all sorts of experimental electronic styles, with angry noise junk crunching into austerely minimal drones and being drowned out by cracked beats.

In order to spread the word as far as possible, Noise In Opposition is available as a free download or low-price data DVD+R with an A4 insert.

Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Stop Press #2: The venue, The Green Note, made the following statement: "We at Green Note are committed to running our venue in a way consistent with our beliefs and world view. This article was recently brought to our attention, and while its accuracy has been disputed by the organisers, we at Green Note reserve the right to err on the side of caution in the name of our venue, the hard work of our staff, and our place in the community. While we had no prior knowledge of the history or politics of this band, if there is any truth to the extreme political views held by the members of Changes, these run in contrast to our beliefs and we felt unable to go ahead with this show." Risa / The Green Note, 2013-08-08Stop Press #1: The venue, The Green Note, have now pulled the concert. Keep your eyes open for any attempt by the promoters to move to a new venue. 2013-07-19nb. This article has been edited to change the incorrect attribution of a couple of quotes. This mistake has no bearing on the accuracy or argument of the post as a whole. 2013-07-23

"None of this had any real connection to integration or peace between races. Integration did not occur -- flight of the whites occurred. It was no secret that once blacks predominated in an area, the crime rate would soar and the streets would become dangerous to walk."Robert N. Taylor - Chronicles of Chaos, 2006

Booked to appear at a small venue called the Green Note in Camden, London on September 6th 2013 is a shadowy American folk duo known as Changes. Cousins Robert N. Taylor and Nicholas Tesluk started playing together in coffee houses of their native Chicago in the dusk of the 60s,in an America redolent with the bad vibes of the Manson Family's 'Acid Fascism' and as the hippy dream turned bum trip.

Taylor and Tesluk have a history of fascist involvement stretching back to the very early 60s, originating in their membership of the Chicago chapter of the Minutemen around 60-61, a vigilante militia group founded to combat what they saw as the communist threat to America. Here is Taylor in an interview with the fascist neofolk/industrial music magazine Stigmata in 2005 talking about the organisation and his significant role in it:

"Minutemen drew from the full scope of those on the right. From "Barry Goldwater" type conservatives, Objectivists and libertarians, anti-communists,constitutionalists, Christian Identity, neo-Fascists, Nazis, gun-owner advocates, etc.."

"My involvement in the Minutemen was considerable. I became a member of the newly formed organization at about 14 years old. I first was a member, then became the principle organizer and leader in the Chicago area. Then I became a member of the Executive council of ten as the director of intelligence. By the time I was 24 years old I was the editor of the organization's publication, On Target as well as the national spokesman for the group. My involvement lasted through most of the years of the organization's existence."

"What made On Target uniquely different from other anti-communist or right-wing publications was that in addition to articles and commentary on various current issues, it also contained names, addresses and phone numbers of its assumed communist and liberal enemies. Often literal dossiers on such people were featured. Combine the slogan, cross-hair masthead, and such detailed information on perceived enemies, and the potential threat was implied, without ever being actually stated."

"We have studied your Communist smirch, Mao, Che, Bhukarin. We have learned our lessons well and have added a few homegrown Yankee tricks of our own. Before you start your next smear campaign, before you murder again, before you railroad another patriot into a mental institution...better think it over. See the old man at the corner where you buy your paper? He may have a silencer equipped pistol under his coat. That extra fountain pen in the pocket of your insurance salesman that calls on you might be a cyanide-gas gun. What about your milkman? Arsenic works slow but sure. Your auto mechanic may stay up nights studying booby-traps. These patriots are not going to let you take their freedom away from them. They have learned the silent knife, the strangler's chord, the target rifle that hits sparrows at 200 yards. Only their leaders restrain them. Traitors beware! Even now the cross-hairs are on the back of your necks..."

The publicity for this upcoming tour makes reference to Italian facist philosopher Julius Evola, describing the evening as "An intimate evening of music for aristocrats of the soul" and calling the tour the 'Ride the Tiger World Tour', both taken from the title of one of Evola's books, Ride the Tiger: A Survival Manual for the Aristocrats of the Soul (published in 1961). Evola's fascism was esoteric and Brahminical, and although he had close ties with Mussolini and the Nazi Party in the 30s and 40s, he considered both to have failed the cause of fascism because they were too proletarian in ideology and structure. At the bottom of the poster is printed 'Kali Yuga' (the Age of Vice), a pointed reference to current era of the Hindu calender constantly referenced by fascists like Evola and esoteric Nazi Savitri Devi as a prophecy of the decline of world into decadence, reliance on technology, and descent into materialism and greed, as predicted in the Mahabharata Hindu scriptures written around 400 BC, and a favourite touchstone for post-Nazi fascism because of its place ancient Aryan history and its narrative of decline, a constant refrain of fascism. In the past Changes also toured under the banner 'Men Among The Ruins', the title of another of Evola's books.

The band were rediscovered by Michael Moynihan of Blood Axis notoriety in 1996, who then produced and released their next album on his Storm label alongside other far-right acts like Allerseen and David E. Williams. They quickly became revered in the scene as the progenitors of neofolk.

Austrian label HauRuck! started by comedy neofolk Stormtrooper Albin Julius rereleased Fire of Life in both LP and CD form in 2001, before releasing a new full length Changes album, Orphan In The Storm.

In 2005 they released an untitled CD with British fascist folk musician Andrew King (Sol Invictus, Brown Sierra) on the Portuguese Terra Fria label. King was recently sacked from another neofolk band Sol Invictus (a band with its own seriously fascist history) because he recorded a song by David E Williams called 'Wotan Rains On A Plutocrat's Parade', in which he amended the lyrics to make the song unambiguously racist and Nazi.

The event is obviously being promoted quietly so as to avoid the unwanted attention of anti-fascist organisations like Searchlight and Antifa. For example Michael Moynihan is referred to as "a friend" and not by name in the biography on the venue's site, presumably because of his own involvement in far-right politics. No mention of their history in the Minutemen is made , and they are presented as a straight-forward folk act. Tesluk talked about the unwanted attention of antifa protesters in the same Stigmata interview quoted above:

"As for the actual antifas congregated a block away, Douglas, of Death In June, walked over to confront them and they all faded away and acted like he was the invisible man. I passed them at least three times and they wouldn't even look in my direction. No one there was afraid of those punks."

The concert, featuring Death in June, a famous British fascist neofolk band, in Changes' hometown of Chicago, was cancelled in the end because the Jewish venue owner became aware of the bands' political affiliations.

Unlike many contemporary neofolk groups Changes seem relatively comfortable talking about their far-right politics, and specifically how with Moynihan's help they reached a young neofolk audience that includes plenty of radical traditionalists, Asatru practitioners, esoteric fascists, neo-Nazis and Third Positionists who are the natural audience for Changes' Eurocentric fascism:

"In the early to mid '70s the audiences were alright, but I doubt that most of them knew what our music was all about. The folk music scene was pervaded with leftists at that time, both as performers and as audiences. That has radically changed. It was as if Changes had to wait over thirty years to find the real audience it had been seeking all those years." Robert N. Taylor - Chronicles of Chaos, 2006

At the time of writing the tour will also include in concerts in Lithuania, Germany, Moscow and Hungary, Italy, Denmark, Austria, and Greece.

Tuesday, 16 July 2013

French police arrested a notorious Norwegian neo-Nazi living in central France on Tuesday morning over fears he was plotting a massacre similar to that carried out by terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, according to a report by French radio RTL.

Kristian Vikernes, nicknamed 'Wolf' (or Varg in Norwegian) who is reportedly a sympathizer of Breivik was detained by anti-terrorist officers from France’s specialist DCRI unit on Tuesday morning at his farm in the rural Corrèze region in central France.

According to reports in the media, French intelligence services acted out of fears he could have been about to carry out a massacre, like the one committed by Breivik in Norway two years ago, when he killed 77 people in a bombing and mass shooting.

Later on Tuesday France's Interior Ministry said Vikernes was detained because he was "likely to carry out a major terrorist attack".

"He was a potential threat to society, as evidenced by the violence of his remarks, notably those intercepted on the internet," the ministry added in a statement.

The initial probe, opened a month ago by anti-terrorism authorities in Paris has labelled Vikernes -- who investigators say wrote antisemitic and xenophobic messages online -- as 'dangerous', a police source told AFP.

Police acted after his French wife, the mother of his three children recently purchased four rifles. The wife has a license to own guns and is a member of a local shooting club but police feared the weapons had been bought for a far more sinister reason. The 25-year-old wife, named in French media as Marie Cachet, was also detained by police.

"That was at the origin of the investigation ... There were several suspicions that made the services fear he could possibly carry out a violent act," a source at the prosecutors office told Reuters news agency.

According to AFP officers seized several weapons at their home on Tuesday, including four 22 Caliber Long Rifles. Vikernes could be held in custody for the next 96 hours, as is allowed under French anti-terror laws.

Vikernes - a convicted murderer

According to news website Le Point, Vikernes settled in France after serving part of a 21-year prison sentence in Norway for stabbing a friend in the 90s.

As a prominent part of Norway’s black metal scene at the time, Vikernes, who recorded music under the moniker ‘Burzum’, was also involved in burning down at least three Christian churches in the country.

Since moving to France, he has continued to write about the purported demise of European culture, attributing the decline to immigrant communities and supposed Jewish conspiracies.

In a blog entry published on Saturday, the neo-Nazi blamed a fatal train crash near Paris the previous day on 'non-European scum' and made claims that 'immigrant youths' had thrown stones at emergency services personnel, while robbing from victims of the crash.

He then claimed the fact that no media outlet in France had reported any incident of this type on a Jewish conspiracy between the French government and media.

In concluding, an angry Vikernes wrote: “I am so angry, and I have been the whole day, and I just don’t understand why Europe doesn’t revolt against this… It must stop; we must take actions to end this. Before it is too late.”

The neo-Nazi's links to Breivik are unclear other than the fact it is believed Breivik sent him a 1,500-page 'manifesto' entitled 2083: A European Declaration of Independence, that was attributed to the terrorist and contained details of the preparation for his attacks.

However, in a post on his blog Vikernes heavily criticised Breivik for killing innocent Norwegians. Nevertheless French police were clearly concerned that there was a link between the two.

Breivik was sentenced to a minimum of 21 years in prison in August 2012 for the mass killings after court in Norway found him sane. His sentenced can be prolonged at a later date if he is still deemed a danger to society.

Breivik insisted the killings were necessary to stop the 'Islamisation' of Norway.